Gwyneth Paltrow’s enormously successful online company, Goop, has been accused of denying equal access to its users who are legally blind.
In legal documents, obtained by The Blast, a woman named Brittney Mejico, who is permanently blind, filed a lawsuit against Goop claiming that despite several attempts to use and navigate the website, she has been denied the full use and enjoyment of its services.
In the filing, she is asking for a preliminary and permanent injunction requiring Goop to take the steps necessary to make their website readily accessible to and usable by the visually-impaired.
Read The Details…
In the lawsuit, Mejico admits she is a fan of the company and “genuinely wants to avail herself of Goop’s goods and services as offered on their website” but also says she has “dual motivation” in this case.
The woman is also a “tester”, or “individual with disabilities who visit places of public accommodation to determine their compliance with Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990”. At this point, she says she intends to continue to engage in advocacy work for the blind and wants to ensure Goop’s commercial website is “fully and equally enjoyable to and usable by visually-impaired persons, including herself”.
In recent reports, Peloton is also facing a similar class-action lawsuit over accusations of not allowing hearing-impaired clients equal access to what the company has to offer.
There’s More…
The woman who filed the suit points at a recent census date claiming approximately 8 million Americans describe themselves as disabled because they are “visually-impaired.”
So, in the lawsuit, she claims “depriving blind persons of equal access to commercial websites on the internet would allow American businesses to treat blind persons as second-class citizens who can be segregated from the rest of American society.”
As you know, Gwyneth Paltrow launched “Goop” in 2008, and since that day her website and brand have become extremely popular around the world. On Goop’s website, Goop is described as a company that was launched from Gwyneth’s kitchen as a “homespun weekly newsletter”.
In the lawsuit, the woman is asking for almost $75,000 for statutory damages, and attorney’s fees for having to file the complaint.
It should be noted, we are guessing Paltrow herself is unaware of issues related to the usability of her website.
The company made huge headlines in the past few months after announcing it was selling candles that smell like Gweneth’s lady parts! According to its description, it is a “funny, gorgeous, sexy and beautifully unexpected scent”, a mix of “geranium, citrusy bergamot, and cedar absolutes juxtaposed with damask rose and ambrette seed.”
Bottom line, ‘Goop’ is great — and we are guessing Gweneth will make sure everyone has equal access in the future.
